The LEGO Group 2014 Annual Report Results

Early this morning, The LEGO Group has just finished up their press conference for the annual results for 2014. The press conference started off with CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp talking about the importance of play. He challenged the press to create a duck with six LEGO bricks which is an illustration of creativity and playful learning. There are 23 different skills when you are playing which you can see below.

The LEGO Group enjoyed their 10th consecutive year of growth. They continued with the globalising of The LEGO Group in 2014 by opening two main offices in Shanghai and London. In addition to the growth, the company has also invested DKK 3,115 million in property, plants, and equipment while global investments has increased more than 17%. LEGO has estimated to have reached 85 million children with LEGO products commercially in more than 140 countries. LEGO has also reached 400,000 children through the LEGO Foundation activities. Finally through LEGO Education, the company has engaged with 10 million children.

There were 0 product recalls for the fifth year. They have introduced a more sustainable LEGO packaging with reduces the CO2 emissions and transportation costs. LEGO has engaged in partnerships with the World Wildlife Fund and UNICEF.

Next up, CFO John Goodwin talked about the financial results for 2014. The company enjoyed a 15% global growth which is highly satisfactory. The top five product themes of 2014 include LEGO City, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Friends, LEGO Creator, and LEGO DUPLO. TLG launched more than 300 new products in 2014 and was sold in more than 140 countries.

The company had a 33.9% operating profit margin with a 7.9 billion DKK cash flow which resulted in a 7 billion DKK in net profit. There were 14,762 people employed by LEGO with a 6.4% growth in 2014.

Overall, 2014 was the best year for The LEGO Group and they expect to continue the growth in 2015. You can read more about the press conference on their recap post.